The present inventions relate to intelligent microsensors. More particularly, the present inventions relate to intelligent microsensors that can fuse data streams from a variety of sources and locally process the data to determine the current state of the environment in which the intelligent microsensor is placed.
Microsensors are used in the prior art to detect certain parameters and to report the raw data detected to a remote location for processing. Some dedicated purpose sensor units, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,553 to Segalowitz (the '553 patent), are used to detect multiple physiological parameters from a patient. Some embodiments of the '553 patent describe the data detection and processing as being completed “on the patient” at the patient's end. However, the invention of the '553 patent is not readily reconfigurable for other uses.
What is needed is a general purpose smart sensor that can fuse data from multiple types of sensors, processing the sensor data locally. What is further needed is an intelligent smart sensor module which can analyze the locally processed data and, if desired, react to the resultant data to adjust the environment of the smart sensor module and/or forward the resultant data to a remote location. What is additionally needed is an intelligent microsensor package that can be standardized and easily adapted and/or reconfigured for multiple different uses. These objects, and others, are satisfied by Applicant's present inventions disclosed here below.